Northwest Choral Society to present program based on Anne Frank
The Northwest Choral Society will present James Whitbourn's Grammy-nominated Annelies at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston.
Annelies is the first adaptation of the book "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" into a large-scale choral work. The libretto by Melanie Challenge is based on the teenager's observations documented in the famous diary written between 1942 and 1944, when Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis in an Amsterdam attic.
"Annelies' music is both haunting and beautiful," says NWCS Artistic Director Alan Wellman.
Soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg and a four-piece ensemble will accompany the chorus. In addition, a complimentary preconcert lecture and discussion of the music will be hosted at 6:45 p.m. by Jonathan Miller, a leading figure in Jewish music in the Chicago area.
Annelies Marie ("Anne") Frank (1929-1945) is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary, started at the age of 13, is one of the world's most widely read books.
Composer James Whitbourn states that Annelies is "a commemorative work" both for Anne and for "those she watched with penetrating eyes and the voiceless millions who shared her fate ... It is [those] remarkable observations that form the basis of Melanie Challenger's libretto ... The diary [has been] distilled into this sequence of beautiful and mature, spiritually charged texts. The selected passages give profound insight into not only the human drama endured by those who suffered ... but gives a tremendous insight into the human spirit of this young girl who was wise beyond her years."
The intent of the librettist was to focus on Anne's keen observations of people, events in her immediate environment and of the world beyond, and of her own situation and longed-for destiny.
The order of presentation of the 14 movements is not chronological (the first one is from April 1944, only a few months before the inhabitants of the attic were found by the Nazis and taken away); rather the selections are organized to capture the essence of Anne's thoughts, feelings and character independent of time.
Whitbourn's concert notes conclude, "Through Annelies, the wisdom and perception of Anne Frank is there to teach us all."
In 2014, the Westminster Williamson Voices' recording of Annelies was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance category.
James Whitbourn is a graduate of Magdalen College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, in England. His career in music began with the BBC, for whom he has worked as a composer, conductor, producer and presenter. He has also written for the concert hall, film and television. He is a regular participant in choral preparation workshops and has worked with students at Princeton University, Rider University, Oxford University, Cambridge University and other educational and choral establishments.
Josefien Stoppelenburg graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music and she is regularly featured as a soloist for oratorio performances in the Netherlands, Germany and the U.S. From 2005-2007, she was part of the Young Opera Ensemble of Cologne. Stoppelenburg has won the first prize at the Princess Christina Competition.
In 2013, she won the Chicago Oratorio Award and second place in the American Prize Opera Competition. In February 2014, she made her debut in Beijing, China, as the soprano soloist in the Haydn Lord Nelson Mass.
Preconcert lecture host Jonathan Miller is a singer, conductor, historian and producer, and is best known for his ongoing work with Chicago's A Cappella Ensemble, which performs eclectic, innovative concert programs with repertoire ranging from Gregorian chant to funk.
Tickets for the Annelies concert are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors and may be obtained online at www.nwchoralsociety.org, by calling (224) 585-9127 or prior to the April 18 concert at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, 303 Dodge Ave., in Evanston.
The NWCS's last concert of the 2014-15 season will be "The Magical Music of Disney" at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at Cutting Hall Performing Arts Center in Palatine. Northwest Choral Society will celebrate its 50th anniversary year during the 2015-2016 season.
Northwest Choral Society is a nonprofit organization that promotes and encourages the appreciation, understanding and performance of a wide variety of outstanding choral literature. Its adult membership resides in the greater Chicago area.
For details, visit www.nwchoralsociety.org.
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